Japanese Educators ’ Knowledge of DV

In the present research, a survey of the Domestic Violence (DV) related experience, knowledge, understanding of characteristics, and opinions on prevention of 244 Japanese educators was conducted. It cannot be overlooked that 8.0% of the 244 educators had experience suffering from DV. Additionally, 28.8% of the educators had experience taking a training or class on DV, and 34.0% had experience studying DV through books, etc. It was revealed from the present survey that roughly 30% of the educators had educational experience related to DV. Also it was revealed that 90.7% of female educators and 85.9% of male educators who were subjects of the present study thought that “It’s best if DV prevention is implemented during middle school and high school classes.” Educators who had studied DV through books, etc. understood six out of seven items about the characteristics of DV, which was more than those who had not studied DV. Additionally, those who had experience taking a training or class understood in detail three questions out of seven, which was more than those without experience. It is important to provide opportunities for training that would lead to learn the correct knowledge about DV for educators.


Introduction
In Japan, the Domestic Violence (DV) Prevention Act was issued in April of 2001 [1].In the seventeen years since, the term "DV" has become well known.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines "Domestic Violence is wife or spouse abuse" [2].The most recent large-scale survey on the current state of the damages of DV was conducted by Gender Equality Bureau Cabinet Office in 2015 (ages 10 to 39) on violence from a dating partner (subjects were 1949 individuals with dating partners, 1064 women and 885 men).In this survey, 19.1% of T. Suga DOI: 10.4236/jss.2018.6200215 Open Journal of Social Sciences women and 10.6% of men reported experiencing serious violence from dating partners at least once [3].Regarding a survey on DV given to educators, Tomoda et al. conducted a questionnaire survey with faculty members of a nursing college (349 individuals).They reported that 64.3% at the nursing college and 57.9% at a junior college were implementing education relating to DV.The number of educators aware of the need for education about DV within nursing education was high at 86.5%, however, when asked from the standpoint of teaching, it was reported that many faculty members felt it was difficult, and expressed through comments such as "There is no program to teach it" and "I just don't have enough knowledge to teach it."[4].Therefore, for the purpose of conducting preventative education in schools, it is necessary to clarify the knowledge and awareness of preventative education held by teachers at schools, who would become the providers of preventative education.
This research reveals how the knowledge, ideas, and opinions of prevention about DV towards faculty, who are teaching students (elementary school, middle school, high school, and schools for students with special needs) are different among the educator's experience suffering and learning DV.

Participants and Procedures
From January to September of 2015, with 244 educators (elementary school, middle school, high school, and schools for students with special needs) were picked as subjects.To begin, we selected several schools and inquired with each school's principal whether it would be possible to have their faculty participate in our research.Paper questionnaires were sent to teachers at the schools where permission was received.A cross-sectional questionnaire survey on DV prevention was conducted using the snowball sampling technique.After an explanation of the gist of the study, the educators from Tokyo and Ibaraki Prefectures who provided consent were each hand delivered one questionnaire sheet.Questionnaires were received in anonymous sealed envelopes or through the mail in self-addressed envelopes (unmarked so individuals could not be identified).The response rate was 69.7% (350 sheets distributed, 244 sheets received).The breakdown of participants was as follows: 90 elementary school teachers, 77 middle school teachers, 34 high school teachers, 43 special education teachers, 79 men and 165 women.The breakdown for ages was 15 individuals in their 20s (5 men, 10 women), 66 individuals in their 30s (29 men, 37 women), 94 individuals in their 40s (28 men, 66 women), and 69 individuals in their 50s or older (17 men, 52 women).

Experience Related to DV (Table 1)
Answers on the two-point scale "yes/no" were requested for experience suffering from DV, experience taking a class or training related to DV, and experience Open Journal of Social Sciences studying DV (books, etc.).

Understanding of Characteristics of DV (Table 2)
Suga et al. [5] created a seven item questionnaire regarding understanding of characteristics of DV, with a reference to Bancroft's explanation of aspects of awareness of DV that are often misunderstood [6], such as: "DV does not occur because of a fight with one's partner; that violence from women to men is also DV; that DV can occur between both partners; that the method of violence has been chosen; that the true nature of DV is to dominate one's partner; that it is possible for anyone to become a victim; and that even if the perpetrator apologizes they will often exhibit violence again." 1) DV occurs because of a fight with one's partner.

Opinions on DV Prevention (
2) Violence from a woman to a man is not DV.
3) DV can occur between dating partners, too.4) DV is not done by acting impulsively out of anger, but rather by one choosing the method of violence.
5) The true nature of DV is to dominate one's partner.
6) Even someone close to you could suffer from DV.
7) DV perpetrators sometimes apologize after acting violent, but it is common for them to use violence again.
I think so 4 points, I somewhat think so 3 points.
I don't really think so 2 points, I don't think so 1 point.
*Reverse item I think so 1 point, I somewhat think so 2 points.
I don't really think so 3 points, I don't think so 4 points.
Table 3. Opinions on the prevention of DV.
1) I would have liked to try taking a DV prevention class when I was a middle school or high school student.
2) It's best if DV prevention is implemented during middle school and high school classes.
I think so 4 points, I somewhat think so 3 points, I don't really think so 2 points, I don't think so 1 point.Open Journal of Social Sciences

Data Analysis
The

Ethical Consideration
I explained everything about the study to the participants by word of mouth and a written explanation.The questionnaires were anonymous, and clearly stipulated that any data provided would not be used for any purpose outside of this research study.This study was conducted with the permission of the Ibaraki National College of Technology Research Ethics Committee.

Average Age of Educators
The average age of the 244 educators was 39.4 ± 1.0 year.

Experience Related to DV (Table 4)
There were 23 individuals (8.0%) who responded they had experience suffering from DV, and 221 individuals (92.0%) who responded they did not.There were 72 educators (28.8%) who had taken a class or training on DV, and 172 educators (71.2%) who had not.There were 85 individuals (34.0%) who had studied DV with books, etc., and 159 individuals (66.0%) who had not.

Educators' Understanding of Characteristics of DV
For the item "1) DV occurs because of a fight with one's partner" (Figure 1), the answer "I don't think so" that DV is caused by one-sided, dominant thoughts from the perpetrator, grasping the idea that it is different from normal fighting, was assumed as the correct answer.In brief, DV is not normal fighting but abuse.
There was a significant difference in answers to this question among males and females; women having the correct perception (Mann-Whitney U Test p < 0.01).Significant differences were not observed in the differences in experience suffering, differences from experience taking a class or training, or differences in experience studying DV.For "2) Violence from a woman to a man is not DV" (Figure 2) women showed significantly lower scores than men on the points showing one's degree of agreement (Mann-Whitney U Test, p < 0.05), with men  have the correct perception that violence from women is also DV (Mann-Whitney U Test, p < 0.05).Compared to those without experience, educators with experience of studying DV from books, etc. were significantly more likely to have the correct perception that violence from women is also DV (Mann-Whitney U Test, p < 0.05).For "3) DV can occur between dating partners, too." (Figure 3) compared to male educators, female educators held the correct perception that it can occur between dating partners (Mann-Whitney U Test, p < 0.05).Compared to those without experience, those who had experience taking a training or class had a significantly higher perception of the correct answer (Mann-Whitney U Test, p < 0.01).For experience studying DV through books, etc., for educators with experience they were significantly more likely to hold the correct perception that DV can occur between dating partners compared to those without (Mann-Whitney U Test, p < 0.05).For "4) DV is not acting impulsively, out of anger, the method of violence is chosen" (Figure 4) educators with experience taking a training or class were significantly more likely to hold the correct perception compared to those who had not (Mann-Whitney U Test, p < 0.05).Compared to those without experience, those who had experience studying DV from books, etc. were significantly more likely to hold the correct perception (Mann-Whitney U Test, p < 0.01).For "5) The true nature of DV is to dominate one's partner (Figure 5)" compared to male   significantly more likely to hold the correct perception (Mann-Whitney U Test, p < 0.001).For "6) Even someone close to you could suffer from DV (Figure 6)" compared to those without experience, educators with experience suffering from DV were more likely to hold the correct perception (Mann-Whitney U Test, p < 0.01).Compared to those without experience, educators with experience studying DV through books, etc. were significantly more aware (Mann-Whitney U Test, p < 0.05).For "7) DV perpetrators sometimes apologize after acting violent, but it is common for them to display violence again" (Figure 7) compared to male educators, female educators held the correct perception (Mann-Whitney U Test, p < 0.001).Compared to those without experience, those with experience studying DV through books, etc. significantly held the correct perception (Mann-Whitney U Test, p < 0.05).

Educators' Opinions on DV Prevention
For "I would have liked to try taking a DV prevention class when I was a middle school or high school student" (Figure 8) compared to male educators, the number of female educators who affirmed the question was significantly higher   (Mann-Whitney U Test, p < 0.05).Compared to those without experience, the number of educators with experience studying from books, etc. who affirmed the question was significantly higher (Mann-Whitney U Test, p < 0.01).For "It's best if DV prevention is implemented during middle school and high school classes (Figure 9)" compared to those without experience, the number of educators with experience suffering from DV who affirmed the question was higher (Mann-Whitney U Test, p < 0.05).Compared to those without experience, the number of educators with experience taking a training or class who affirmed the question was significantly higher (Mann-Whitney U Test, p < 0.05).Compared to those without experience, the number of educators with experience studying from books, etc. who affirmed the question was significantly higher (Mann-Whitney U Test, p < 0.01).

Discussion
In the present research, a survey of the DV related experience, knowledge, understanding of characteristics, and opinions on prevention of 244 educators was feeling the need for DV education outside of teacher training, there are educators voluntarily studying DV.
In the United States, Khubchanani et al. conducted a survey about DV prevention in 2012 with 404 high school nurses as subjects [7].Of the school nurses, 54.2% responded that they had experience educating high school students on dating violence and 11.9% responded that they had conducted a short course on dating violence with all staff members.In other country, Cambodia is improving legal awareness about DV between men and women [8], also Persian society provoke DV because of marriage pattern, so they suggest to educate girls [9].
The same as Senegal suggest to educate girls about DV [10].Educators who had studied DV through books, etc. understood six out of seven items about the characteristics of DV, which was more than those who had not studied DV.Additionally, those who had experience taking a training or class understood in detail three questions out of seven, which was more than those without experience.It is thought that these results were obtained precisely because the depth of knowledge of educators who had studied through books, etc. was from voluntarily trying to learn about DV.As knowledge from training and classes is obtained in a passive state, they likely stopped with only knowledge that was discussed during training.Although it is hoped that this voluntary attitude of studying from books, etc. will spread to many teachers, it was revealed from the results that, even by only taking part in training, etc., there is an effect on understanding of the characteristics of DV.In particular, for the facts that "DV can occur between both partners, the method of violence has been chosen, and the true nature of DV is to dominate one's partner," that educators with educational experience had higher awareness compared to educators without experience is important in continuing to educate students.Additionally, only for the question of "Even someone close to you could suffer from DV," compared to those without experience, educators with experience suffering from DV had a result of significant awareness, it seems it is only through suffering that this point is strongly felt.Even if they have not suffered, it is hoped that awareness of the fact that "Even someone close to you could suffer from DV" will be grasped by many educators.
Therefore, the present study can be said to suggest the need to provide op-

Conclusions
1) In the present research, 8.0% of the 244 Japanese educators had experience suffering from DV, and 28.8% of the educators had experience taking a training or class on DV, and 34.0% had experience studying DV through books, etc.
2) We observed no difference in "Understanding of Characteristics of DV" among teachers based on whether or not the teachers themselves had suffered from DV.In light of this fact, we determined that it is possible for all teachers to develop DV awareness.However, among teachers who had never suffered from DV, we found poor recognition on the questionnaire item "Even someone close to you could suffer from DV."As it would be unacceptable to wait until teachers have personally suffered from DV in order to secure their recognition, we assert that there is a need to actively exercise prevention.
3) We also tested for differences in "Understanding of Characteristics of DV" according to whether or not the teachers had received training on DV or had experience studying DV using books or other resources.We observed a clear increase in the depth of understanding of those who had performed training or study; the increase was particularly pronounced for those who had studied DV using books or other resources.We propose that introducing compulsory DV training for teachers and having teachers engage in independent study will lead to DV prevention for students.Furthermore, we observed that a large number of teachers in Japan expressed support for conducting DV prevention in junior high and high schools.We found no difference of opinion between male and female teachers regarding this expressed support.However, teachers who had number of individuals who have experiences related to DV and the proportions are displayed.For items on DV knowledge, understanding characteristics of DV, and opinion on DV prevention, the number of individuals and proportions are displayed as well, and for each item, comparisons of the gender difference and experience suffering, comparison based on experience taking a class or training, and comparison based on experience studying DV (through books, etc.) were conducted using a Mann-Whitney U test.I used IBM SPSS 22.0.

Figure 1 .
Figure 1.DV occurs because of a fight with one's partner.

Figure 2 .
Figure 2. Violence from a woman to a man is not DV.

Figure 3 .
Figure 3. DV can occur between dating partners, too.

Figure 4 .
Figure 4. DV is not acting impulsively, out of anger, the method of violence is chosen.

Figure 5 .
Figure 5.The true nature of DV is to dominate one's partner.

(Figure 6 .
Figure 6.Even someone close to you could suffer from DV.

Figure 7 .
Figure 7. DV perpetrators sometimes apologize after acting violent, but it is common for them to display violence again.

Figure 8 .
Figure 8.I would have liked to try taking a DV prevention class when I was a middle school or high school student.

Figure 9 .
Figure 9. It's best if DV prevention is implemented during middle school and high school classes.
Social Sciences portunities for training that would lead to holding the correct perceptions about DV for educators as well.
performed DV training or study demonstrated increased awareness regarding DV prevention for their students relative to teachers who had not performed such training or study.Based on this finding, we propose that it is a necessary first step to provide teachers with training and study opportunities regarding DV.

Table 3 )
Opinions on the prevention of DV were requested.Responses were requested to

Table 1 .
Experience related to DV.

Table 2 .
Understanding of characteristics of DV.

Table 4 .
Experience related to DV.
Amidst the preventative education on DV beginning in schools in the United States and hoping the preventative education on DV in other developing countries, in Japan as well, it was revealed that 90.7% of female educators and 85.9% of male educators who were subjects of the present study thought that "It's best if DV prevention is implemented during middle school and high school classes."From this, it is thought that educators also have the idea in mind of carrying out preventative education about DV with middle and high school students.It would likely be possible to carry out preventative education about DV with middle and high school students if educators were provided with DV prevention training and educational materials.